What causes flower shortages?
An international white rose shortage sounds like a premise for a far-fetched mockumentary, but like many supply chain issues of our current era, it's real. The floral industry is experiencing flower and supply chain shortages and major delays. Simply put, there's higher demand than ever before without enough availability to satisfy those demands.
Here are a few factors that have led to shortages and our suggestions for the upcoming event season.
COVID-19
With events being canceled and a shortage of employees, many farmers were forced to pull out crops and are now playing catch-up. It takes many hands and many hours to get back to a consistent growing and harvesting schedule. We need to be patient as we wait for plants to mature and be healthy enough to meet demand again.
Weather
Inclement weather (on the local and international level) has caused a lot of uncertainty for domestic and international farms. The fluctuation in weather causes unpredictable growth and delays in production. This has especially impacted the availability of roses and carnations. We are happy to discuss viable alternatives to these blooms.
Demand
During the pandemic, many people bought flowers for themselves or loved ones to brighten an otherwise isolating year. Add to that the return of weddings and events this past summer, and we have a huge increase in demand without enough flowers to meet those requests.
The cost of flowers has risen across the board with white & blush roses, blue flowers, and other specialty blooms seeing the biggest increase.
Transport
To top everything off, there is a shortage of commercial air cargo flights making exports from South America extremely difficult and slower than we are accustomed to. A rise in delivery costs coupled with labor shortages have also led to difficulties with ground transportation.
Fortunately, for our studio, we harvest a lot of our product from our fields and source from local farms in the area. However, we still depend on the market to fill some orders and fit our clients’ requests, specifically during the off-season.
How does this effect wedding season?
We want your wedding to be everything you’ve ever dreamed of and we are committed to making sure your flowers meet your expectations. Here are a few tips to keep in mind as you plan for your wedding:
- Book early - Solidify your florist ASAP so we can start planning what products + supplies will be needed for your event. With our planning tool, you can book the items you know you’ll need and add more as it gets closer to your date.
- Be flexible + trust us – Part of the professional design service we provide is material selection. Please trust us to provide beautiful blooms that will bring your vision to life and be open to the idea that some elements may be different that what you see on Pinterest. Don't get us wrong, we love Pinterest, and it is a great jumping off point for inspiration; but it can be unrealistic in terms of what is available locally and seasonally.
- Consider other colors – As we mentioned earlier, blush, white, and blues are hot commodities right now. We encourage you to consider different color palettes for your day. We are happy to help brainstorm ideas to fit your vibe or check out our portfolio for real wedding inspiration!